Flexible automobile support



July 21, 1936. o. A. LARSEN FLEXIBLE AUTOMOBILE SUPPORT Filed Oct. 14, 1935 Patented July .21, 1936 r UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim. (cl. ear-st) My invention relates to automobiles and has for its object to provide a new and emcient elliptical shaped or egg shaped air chamber to be used to support the automobile body above the axles and wheels, toreplace the springs as now used.

A still further object is to provide an air bag of correct form, and carrying suflicient air pressure to cushion theweight of the automobile body, giving the passenger greater smoothness in traveling.

A still further object is to provide a set of air bags for use in place of the conventional spring, to take the weight of the body and give greater riding ease with less shocks to the body, thereby giving greater life to' the automobile body.

A still further object is to provide a set of air bags to replace the conventional springs now used on automobile bodies, these bags to be filled to any desired pressure by the person riding in the automobile, so that they may regulate the amount of rebound and give to the support, thus providing adjustable riding quality for automobiles heretofore never possible, giving the pas- Y senger the eflect oi riding upon air.

A still further object is to provide an air bag which may be used either to replace the conventional springs or used in conjunction therewith as a shock absorber and rebound check and increase the riding qualities of the automobile.

These objects I accomplish with the device il-' lustrated in the accompanying drawing in which similar numerals and letters of reference indicate like parts throughout the several views and as described in the specification forming a part ofthis application and pointed out in the-appended claim.

In the drawing Figure 1 is a side elevation of an automobile frame, wheels removed, and parts cut away to show the air bag support for'the body to the axles.

Figure2 is an enlarged side elevation of the air bag and a section of the channel support therefor.

Figure 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a section of the top of the air bag to show another means of securing the bag to.

the frame of the body. Figure 5 is a cross section of the air bag and rim with no inner tube-used therein.

In the drawing I have shown the frame of the'body as A, having the front end curved down at B and having a vertical rear support C secured thereto. Each side of the frame and each of the ends of the frame are supported on air bags I! having the base of each bag formed with beading Ii therein around a central opening I! on the bottom side of the bag with a bag or tube is carried within the bag and inserted through 5 the opening l2 by which the bag may be inflated. The beading II is fitted into a channel IS in the lever support members l8 which members are pivotally secured by'the curved ends H to the curved end B and the support C by the pivots 9. The members l6 are formed as channels with the edges II and is curved upwardly and m- 'wardly similar to the rim of an automobile tire.

Across the top of the bag there is a cylindrical member 20 in which the pivot bar 2| is carried. The top end 22 of the pivot bar 2| is secured to the frame A to support the frame on the air bag.

A modified form of attaching the bag to the pivot bar is shown in Figure 4, where an ex- 20 .tension 25 is formed in the top of the bag in [of pressure in the air bags.

As will be obvious, the air bags I0 may be made solid along the bottom edge .21 instead of having the slot or opening l2 therein, as shown 85 in Figure 5, so that the bag may be filled with air if desired and no inner tube used therein.

The material of which the bag is made is obviously not important as any flexible material having sumcient strength and flexibility may be used, such as rubber, leather or combination fabrics.

The placing of positions of the air bags on the 7 channels is not essential to the invention, for in various conditions they may be shifted to fit the type of automobile on which they are being placed and they may even be used in pairs along a single channel support, or they may be used transversely across the front, or rear of an automcbile to act as a shock absorber. Such deviations from the methods shown in the drawing do not depart from the spirit of the invention nor the scope oi the claim.

The operation'oi the device is obvious.

Having thus described my invention I desire to secure by Letters Patent and claim: i In a device 01 the class described, the combination of any automobile body frame; axles sup-.

ported from said frame by lever members; said lever members being formed as channels with one end pivotaily mounted to said frame; an air hm havingja beaded opening through the Foottom side thereof with i. flt said channels; an inner tube for inflating said bag; a cylindrical member formed through said bag; a pivot bar secured to the frame with the end m w-1 through the cylindrical member of the bag to support the frame of the automobile upon the bag yieldingly in either direction.

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- es formed thereon to 

